The hypothesis? Is it possible to alter internal motivation. You know, that drive deep down inside that compels an otherwise sane human to chase down a fly ball for the sheer joy of catching it, the elation of hitting the ball over the fence, or the thrill of running the bases. Can you play baseball for something other than the love of it?

At this preliminary point in the study my baseball frenzied friend Kerry Lynn Blair screamed a very unscientific no! We confiscated her cool white scientist frock and removed her name from the study. Scientifically speaking she's not nearly as discrete about her bias as, say, I am. Baseball stinks. Soccer rules.

I was a research assistant at the university. It seemed like a harmless experiment. I mean, it was baseball not life. [insert another Kerry Blair scream here] The love of the game is an attitude. A mind set. A world view. But this was only baseball so we didn't bother to consult The Center for Experimental Ethics (CEE). A little tinkering in the name of science seemed harmless enough until, of course, we met our subjects. All sixth graders. None of them looked remotely like a white mouse.

Joey was the ring leader. He was also the catcher and the fattest kid at Gertrude Elementary. He gathered his ten closest pals every afternoon after school on an empty sand lot with a tree house marking the third base foul line. Opening pitch: 4:00 pm sharp. Come late and he'd sit on you. Hit a home run and he'd carry you around the bases on his shoulders. Timmy was the skinny outfielder in the blue cap. He never had to run at full speed. His arms were too long for that. Timmy was the reason Joey didn't carry the whole team on his shoulders. Bull was the other reason. He was their only pitcher. Fast ball speed: 25 MPH. Curve ball speed: 25 MPH. No change up, no slider. If he didn't show up, Joey climbed the tree house and threw rocks. Bull lived next door to third base. The boy never stopped talking which served him well on the mound. His favorite line was, "hey batter, batter, can't take the love," which I believed, at the time, was a reference to his fast ball. Every day Bull managed to ask us the same question. Why were we writing everything down on a clipboard? I think he's the governor of Iowa now.

Our first step was to determine participant frequency. After four weeks we concluded that rain didn't keep them away. A cold front with hail didn't stop them from playing. Not even a tornado touching down in another neighborhood could spook them enough to put away their gloves. They used the tree house for shelter. Our testing ended before winter set in, but fat Joey swore they had snow shovels. They never missed. No one wanted Joey sitting on them.

The first experimental trial was scheduled for a warm Monday afternoon in September. After the last pitch, we approached the boys and offered them a dollar each to return on Tuesday.

Joey said, "Let me get this straight. You want us..." He held out his chubby hands like a car salesman. "To come back tomarra and you're gonna pay us a buck?"

"That's right." I held up a stack of one dollar bills.

"Come on guys." Joey laid his bat over his shoulder and started for home. "I told you. He's crazy."

Tuesday they all came back. I paid them their dollar. They played with the same enthusiasm as always, Joey carrying home run hitters around the bases, Timmy bringing in fly balls and Bull talking hey-batter-batter trash between every pitch. When they finished on Tuesday I offered up a handful of fifty cent pieces and said, "If you come back tomorrow, I'll pay each of you one of these."

Bull said, "Only fifty cents?"

"That's right."

"That's it?

I said, "Fifty cents."

When they finished on Wednesday I offered them a quarter to return. On Thursday a dime. And on Friday I told them, "If you come back Monday after school no one gets anything."

At 4:00 pm the following Monday the sand lot was empty. No fat Joey. No long-armed Timmy. No hey-batter-batter Bull. We monitored the lot for two weeks. No sand lot players. The statistical report supported the premise of the study. As hypothesized, the internal motivation of our subjects had been altered to an external motivation in the form of cash awards. Once those external rewards were removed, the desire of our subjects to participate was reduced. The study was over. The hypothesis was accepted as true. The professors at the university published their findings. Everyone went home.

Except the subjects.

On a whim I drove by the sand lot on a cold day in early November. There they were, playing baseball in the rain. I said, "Haven't seen you boys out here much."

Bull tossed me a bat. "You want another crack at me crazy man?"

"I thought you grew out of all this?"

Bull stepped to the pitcher's mound. Before he threw me his twenty five mile per hour fast ball he said, "Hey, batter, batter. Can't take the love."

Bull was right. No matter the scientific results, the best things in life, the most important ones, aren't for sale. At any price. They're rooted deep down inside. Nothing, including the coldest, grimmest statistics, can take away what you love.

You always manage to beat the odds. How do you say that in baseball? I've got a terrible accent. Nothing like health. Right?

As for nutrition, dearest, I could talk your ear off. But then you knew that. Eat right. Always. And you'll have marrow in your bones, you'll walk and not be weary and run and not faint and that destroying cancer angel will pass you over for sure.

This evening I was at a little league, machine pitch, baseball game. What happen in the bleachers is what made me think of this blog. A young boy 5 or 6 years old slipped and fell in the stand. He was not physically hurt, but his ego was bruised. Through his tears he began to yell at his dad, "You hurt me! You pushed me!" In a gentle-loving manner, the father kindly said, "No I didn't." The same dialog went on and on for several minutes. Then the boy said,"I'll be happy again dad if you buy me a present."

This is one post I haven't read yet. Don't know why. Probably because I didn't need to until tonight. My baby boy plays baseball. He's really good at it. He gets to start as pitcher next week. His coach informed me today that he needs someone to practice with him in a "catcher" position. He was staring me in the eyes. I can play "catch." As for squatting down and letting him take aim between my eyes where the glove will hopefully be, I'm not so sure. Sigh. This is the hard part of baseball for me. I hope I can do this. I'm going to have to. What happens if I can't? You don't have to respond...I'm just thinking out loud. :)

Featured Side Bar Posts

Where everyday you can join author David G. Woolleyand the Top of the Morning staff for informative, entertaining and uplifting commentary and opinion with special installments dedicated to the fascinating history,archeology, anthropology, and Book of Mormon writings that inspired the publication of five works in the Promised Land historical fiction series and continues to inspire the writing of three more. Check the side-bar below for some of our featured posts from David G. Woolley.

Top of the Morning Readers

The Language of Nephi (Part I)

Click this Mayan glyph to read Part I in a series on Nephite language by David G. Woolley

Birth of a Christmas Carol

Click this Christmas Carol portrait to read a Christmas Short Story by author David G. Woolley

Don't Fake It

Click this molecular photo of aspartame floating in your favorite diet drink to read a fascinating post about artificial sugar and your health by David G. Woolley

Who's A Nephite?

Click this Nephite running from the bruning City of Zarahemla to read this Book of Mormon post by David G. Woolley about who really is a Nephite.

Mission Impossible?

Click this Mission Impossible film still cut to read a Book of Mormon realted post on Christ's admonition to perfection by David G. Woolley

Unlock the Past & Your Soul

Click this recreation of the ancient Jewish Fort Lakhish to read Book of Mormon related post about digging up the ancient past by David G. Woolley

Tomato Soup Nazi

Click this tomato to read a light-hearted healthy post with a killer tomato soup recipe

Ancient Book of Mormon Borders

Click these "border" mountains to read a Book of Mormon post on Old and New World geography related to the restoration scripture by David G. Woolley

Worse Than Beer

Click these root beer bottles to read a funny family story about root beer imposters by David G. Woolley

Lehi's 600 Year "Tun" Prophecy

Click this Mayan calendar to read a Book of Mormon related post on Lehi's 600 year "Tun" prophecy and Alma's 400 year "baktun" prophecy

Do the Honest Thing

Click this once stolen Monet painting of "Two Women in a Boat" to read a post about art theft that spanned decades and destroyed lives

The Refiners Fire

Click this ancient metal rendering of a blacksmith to read the fascinating post on refiniing ancient silver and your modern soul by David G. Woolley

Soccer Dads and the Vote Recount

Summertime on a Shoe String

Click this Zion's Park cliff hanging photo for a fun post on summertime by David G. Woolley

Presidential Politics in Utah

Click Romney & McCain photo to read this entertaining political post by David G. Woolley

The Secret To Happiness

Click the fogged mirror for an insightful post from David G. Woolley

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

Click this Winston Churchill photo for commentary on our times by David G. Woolley

Celebrating Ha-Zikaron

During the 2008 anniversary week between Joseph Smith's first visit with Moroni on the evening of September 21st and the Jewish feast-day celebration of the Feast of Trumpets on Monday, September 29th, author David G. Woolley and the Top of the Morning Staff presented a week-long series of posts dedicated to celebrating the Day of Remembrance. Links to the dedicatory posts can be found below in the side bar. We hope you enjoy being part of the celebration as much as we do.

On This Night

Click this well-known Joseph Smith and Moroni painting for an interesting Book of Mormon related post. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley.

On This Hill

Click this wooded hill photo for a faithful Book of Mormon post. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley.

On This Prophetic Date

Click this Hebrew calendar to read this cosmic Book of Mormon related tpost. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley.

Sariah & the Brass Plates

Click this bell-shaped brass plate to read a fascinating Book of Mormon post. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with Author David G. Woolley

Feast of Trumpets

Click this shofar (trumpet) to read a Book of Mormon related post about the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Trumpets. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley

Divine Calendars

Click this mayan glyphic stone calendar to read an interesting Book of Mormon related post on the origination of calendars. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley.

Happy Day of Remembrance

Click this Rosh Hashanah greeting card to read the final Book of Mormon related post in this series. Celebrating the Day of Remembrance with author David G. Woolley.

Eat Well, Live Well

The Top of the Morning staff is pleased to feature the following side-bar posts on healthy eating by David G. Woolley. We hope it helps you feel great.

The Business of Food

Click Veggies to read this popular healthy food introductory post by David G.Woolley

Raising the Red Falg

Click the flag for a sobering post on what we eat by David G. Woolley

Getting It Straight

Click this backwards clock for commentary on healthy eating by David G. Woolley

Gotta Have It?

Click this junk food for a post on healthy eating by David G. Woolley

The Gift of Tongues

Click this tongue to read a healthy post by David G. Woolley

Introducing the Promised Land

The Top of the Morning staff is pleased to introduce you to author David G. Woolley's Promised Land Series. You can visit his Promised Land Website or click on any of the side bar book cover icons below and have a look inside. Welcome to the Promised Land.

The Promised Land Website

Click on David G. Woolley at the Guatemalan ruins of Tikal to enter the Promised Land where you're sure to find the author hard at work in his writing room